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Wijeyadasa: No govt. has followed national disaster guidelines for past 18 yrs

Published

2 years ago

2023/08/26

By Saman Indrajith

Successive governments had not followed national disaster guidelines formulated after the 2004 tsunami disaster, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament yesterday (25).The Minister said so, making a statement on the status of litigation on the X-Press Pearl disaster and a report on the disaster by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.

Commenting on the report, Rajapakshe said the Sectoral Oversight Committee, comprising 12 members had presented its report in late July, but only six members had signed it.The Justice Minister said that the Sectoral Oversight Committee report had levelled serious allegations against the Attorney General’s Department.

“This report is problematic as only six have signed. What is the view of the other six MPs? I urge the Speaker to prepare some guidelines on this,” he said.

The Parliament had appointed a committee led by Minister Ramesh Pathirana to study both X-Press Pearl and MV New Diamond disasters, Rajapakshe said.

“I have also just appeared before it. However, the report of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources & Sustainable Development has caused great inconvenience to the Attorney General’s Department. In fact, most of the findings of the report reflect the opinions expressed by a former employee of the Attorney General’s Department. He now appears as an expert in maritime law.

In response, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that they had no intention of making life difficult for those engaged in litigation in the X-Press Pearl case. However, the manner in which the estimates for the damage caused by the disaster had been made left much to be desired.

“The previous government learnt nothing from the MV New Diamond case. It also learnt nothing from the X-Press Pearl disaster. The manner in which the damage to nature was calculated was wrong. Those in charge said the damage was only limited to the area between Negombo and Panadura. However, we know that the damage was caused to a much larger area. So, was the damage properly assessed? Also the MPs do have a right to ask questions about the status of inquiry, he said.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Lakshman Kirielle asked the Justice Minister to explain the current status of the litigation. He said that MPs need to know what has transpired following Sri Lanka filing a case in Singapore.

The Minister said that a nine-member team, with representatives from the Attorney General’s Department and the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), met representatives from insurers of X-Press Pearl in Singapore. There is also an attempt to shift the case to a commercial high court there.

“This would allow us to have judges from different countries. This would actually be beneficial to us,” he said.

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Ten new buses with facilities for people with special needs

Published

4 mins ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

It has been decided to implement air-conditioned, low floor board bus service with facilities for people with special needs as a pilot project by utilizing the provisions allocated for the “Clean Sri Lanka” project.

Accordingly, the procurement for purchasing 10 buses has already been awarded and these buses are due in Sri Lanka on 15-03-2026

It has seemed that the Sri Lanka Transport Board does not have the capability to provide the physical infrastructure and digital
infrastructure necessary for the operation and maintenance of these buses.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to implement the project of deploying 100 modern, comfortable, and advanced technology buses for passenger transportation in the Colombo suburbs as an initial step taken to modernize passenger transport, and transfer the relevant 10 buses to the Metro Transit (Private) Company, established under the Sri Lanka Transport Board as per the
Cabinet decision made on 21-07-2025, and to operate this service under this company.

News

Amendment to the regulations for registration of Subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) and reregistration of subscriber information related to the SIM cards obtained before 02-08-2019

Published

5 hours ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

As per the provisions of the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991, the regulations for registration of subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) No. 01 of 2019 have
been declared on 02-08-2019 and the aforementioned regulations are only applicable for the SIM cards issued after that date.

Therefore, the information on certain subscribers who registered before 02-08-2019 is not available with the telephone operating companies, which has led to problematic situations in certain law investigation activities.

Further, it has been recognized the necessity of amending the regulations appropriate to the current requirements, including the new provisions relevant to the registration of subscribers between the ages of 16 and 17 and the issuance of SIM
cards for foreigners who come to Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution presented by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Digital Economy, to introduce new regulations providing the provisions for reregistration of the information of the subscribers who have obtained the SIM cards before 02-08-2019 and amending the currently implemented regulations for registration of Subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) No. 01 of 2019.

News

Police open fire on speeding van in Jaffna: 17-year-old driver killed

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

The van shot by the police

Police are investigating the circumstances under which its men, manning a checkpoint, opened fire on a vehicle, killing a 17-year-old boy in Jaffna, in the early hours of yesterday (10).

Police said that they opened fire at a van that ignored orders to stop at the checkpoint. The dead youth was identified as Albino Arul Bias, a resident of Vaddukoddai. Bias was identified as the driver of the vehicle.

Sources said that the incident happened at a checkpoint at the Alaipiddy junction, along the Jaffna–Urkavalthurai road.

After the vehicle was brought to a stop, the teenage boy, who had been inside, was found to have sustained critical gunshot injuries. He was subsequently transported to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for emergency treatment. Despite medical intervention, he later succumbed to his injuries.

Two other individuals, who were inside the vehicle, have been taken into custody by police. Authorities have stated that one of those arrested is from the Vaddukoddai area, while the other is from Nallur.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Attorney-at-Law, F. U. Wootler said that the men had no option but to open fire as they were suspicious of the vehicle. “The incident happened around 1 am in the morning and their failure to heed the police order couldn’t be justified under any circumstances,” the spokesman said (SF)